The Massachusetts Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) Program is a list of state-designated places within the Commonwealth that receive special attention due to their natural and cultural resources. The program was established in 1975 and includes a list of thirty ACECs covering over 268,000 acres in seventy six communities throughout the state. The ACEC Program is administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on behalf of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.ACEC Program Overview

List of ACECs in Massachusetts

Ref#ACEC NameImageArea (acres)DesignatedLocation Notes1Bourne Back River 1,850 1989 Bourne 2Canoe River Aquifer and Associated Areas 17,200 1991 Easton, Foxborough, Mansfield, Norton, Sharon, and Taunton Includes Watson Pond, Lake Sabbatia, and the Snake River3Cedar Swamp 1,650 1975 Hopkinton4Central Nashua River Valley12,900 1996 Bolton, Harvard, Lancaster, and Leominster 5Cranberry Brook Watershed 1,050 1983 Braintree and Holbrook6Ellisville Harbor600 1980 Plymouth7Fowl Meadow and Ponkapoag Bog 8,3501992 Boston, Canton, Dedham, Milton, Norwood, Randolph, Sharon, and Westwood8Golden Hills 500 1987 Melrose, Saugus, and Wakefield 9Great Marsh 25,500 1979 Essex, Gloucester, Ipswich, Newbury, and Rowley originally designated as Parker River/Essex Bay10Herring River Watershed 4,450 1991 Bourne and Plymouth 11Hinsdale Flats Watershed 14,500 1992 Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru, and Washington 12Hockomock Swamp 16,950 1990Bridgewater, Easton, Norton, Raynham, Taunton, and West Bridgewater13Inner Cape Cod Bay 2,600 1985 Brewster, Eastham, and Orleans14Kampoosa Bog Drainage Basin 1,350 1995 Lee and Stockbridge 15Karner Brook Watershed 7,000 1992 Egremont and Mount Washington16Miscoe, Warren, and Whitehall Watersheds 8,700 2000 Grafton, Hopkinton, and Upton17Neponset River Estuary1,3001995 Boston, Milton, and Quincy18Petapawag25,6802002Ayer, Dunstable, Groton, Pepperell, and TyngsboroughLower Nashua River and Salmon Brook areas.19Pleasant Bay 9,2401987 Brewster, Chatham, Harwich, and Orleans20Pocasset River 1601980 Bourne 21Rumney Marshes 2,8001988Boston, Lynn, Revere, Saugus, and Winthrop22Sandy Neck Barrier Beach System 9,1301978Barnstable and Sandwich23Schenob Brook Drainage Basin 13,7501990Mount Washington and Sheffield24Squannassit37,4202002Ashby, Ayer, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley, and TownsendSquannacook River and Mulpus Brook areas.25Three Mile River Watershed14,2802008Dighton, Norton, Taunton26Upper Housatonic River 12,2802009Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, Washington27Waquoit Bay 2,580 1979 Falmouth and Mashpee28Weir River950 1986 Cohasset, Hingham, and Hull29Wellfleet Harbor 12,480 1989 Eastham, Truro, and Wellfleet 30Weymouth Back River800 1982 Hingham and Weymouth November 2010 list

References